London Trackway – Track #42

This cast, despite having broken when removed from the ground, shows a nicely-shaped foot with all five toes. The broken part of the cast only held the inside of the heel, which was well-preserved in many other prints.

Of interest is that there are striations on the ends of the toes that impress deeper than the bottoms of the fourth and fifth digits do. This may indicate that the first three digits are acting independently of the fourth and fifth ones. This is something that would be very difficult to replicate with a prosthetic foot, though it might be possible.

And to confuse the matter more, the curve of the footprint between the ball and the toes is very parabolic. This bothers me because this is exactly what a rigid prosthetic would produce.

Tracks like this show the cunundrum that footprint evidence presents. One can never be sure. Even though the London Trackway shows a number of features that would be very difficult to fake, it also shows some features that suggest a hoax of some complexity.

I see it as my job to document… I’m still inclined to think they’re real, but I don’t think I’ll ever be 100% sure.